Slimline safety belt buckle



Aug. 1968 D. w. BURLEIGH 3,396,437

SLIMLINE SAFETY BELT BUCKLE Filed Aug. 11, 1967 0" WWW bralwvbmhfyluflml/u uww may:

United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a safety belt buckle of slim outline which is push-button operated and has a housing part adapted to be connected to a length of webbing and a tongue adapted to be connected to another length of webbing, and which is insertable into the housing part, and housing part being a spring biassed latching plate of shallow V section and a release lever of similar section pivotally mounted therein, one edge of the latch plate being pivoted in a retaining lip spaced from the base of the housing part and the opposite edge co-operating with an edge of the release lever, the other opposite edge of which is presented at an opening to the housing.

The present invention relates to buckles for safety belts used in motor vehicles, aircraft and other forms of conveyance. A safety belt buckle in general comprises two parts which are interlocked together when the belt is in use, and which are separated to release the belt. Among the many requirements are that the two parts of the buckle may be interlocked and released simply and easily, that the locking or engagement of the two parts shall be sufficiently strong to withstand high impact loadings that may be put upon them and that the buckle shall have a neat appearance and be of compact, light construction.

According to the present invention, a safety belt buckle comprises a housing part having a base plate, a latch plate of shallow V section pivotally mounted about the free edge of one of its arms, which edge is pivotally retained in a lip formed on the housing part, the face of the latch plate adjacent the base plate presenting a latching surface, means biassing the latch plate for pivotal move ment towards the base plate of the housing part, a tongue insertable into the housing part between the latch plate and the base plate, the tongue having an abutment surface engageable with the latching surface to lock the tongue against withdrawal, and a manually operable release lever of shallow V section, one arm of which engages under the other arm of the latch plate to pivot the latch plate against the biassing means, thereby effecting movement of the latching surface away from the base plate and out of engagement with the abutment surface of the tongue.

The lip, in which the front edge of the latch plate is pivotally mounted, is preferably spaced above the front edge of the base plate of the buckle and may be provided by downwardly and rearwardly turned tabs extending from side flanges which lie parallel to but spaced from the base plate. These flanges may be integral with side walls, forming part of the housing part, which in turn are integral with the base plate along its side edges.

The latch plate may be provided with a tail extending from the rear edge thereof, and under which the release lever may engage, whereby when the release lever is manually operated, the tail is lifted, pivotally moving the latch plate away from the base plate.

Preferably, a cover plate is provided engaging under or with the side flanges of the side walls of the base plate to overlie the latch plate and release lever, the cover plate and base plate forming the housing in which the latch plate and release lever are contained. Access to the release lever may be through an aperture in the cover plate. In a preferred construction, the free end of the other trailing arm of the release lever engages under the tail of the latch plate and its other arm is presented at the aperture. Thus by pressing on said other end the lever is rocked, resulting in the tail of the latch plate being lifted away from the base plate.

One embodiment of a safety belt buckle in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a longitudinal section with the tongue in position,

FIGURE 2 shows an exploded longitudinal section, and

FIGURE 3 is an exploded plan view with the top cover removed,

The buckle consists of two parts, a housing part 1 and a tongue 2. The tongue portion is in the form of a plate and its width at its outer portion 3 is substantially the same as that of the housing part 1 whilst its inner portion 4 is of reduced width in order that it may be inserted into the housing part 1. The inner corners of the inner portion 4 are rounded tofacilitate easy insertion into the housing.

A slot 5 is cut in the tongue to receive one end of a length of safety belt, the other end of which is attached to the vehicle either directly or indirectly through a storage reel. Alternatively, a belt may simply be passed through the slot 5, and attached to anchorages at the top and bottom of a door pillar of a motor vehicle, the two reaches of the belt running from the tongue forming a lap strap and a chest strap. An aperture 6 is also cut in the tongue in the inner portion 4 thereof, a face edge 7 of which slot provides an abutment surface for engagement with a latching surface of a latch plate, to be described hereinafter.

The housing part comprises a main body member 11, the left hand end as seen in FIGURE 1 being the front end into which the tongue is inserted and the right hand end being the rear end to which a belt is attached. The body member 11 is in the form of a base plate 12, the opposite side edges of which are turned up to form side Walls 13, the top edges of which are turned over inwardly to provide flanges 14 and 15 disposed parallel to and spaced from the base plate 12. At the front end of the housing, the flanges are extended as tabs turned downwardly and rearwardly to form retainer lips 16 and 17 in which a front edge or free edge 18 of one of the arms of a latch plate 19 of shallow V section is pivotally mounted.

A cover 20 overlies the flanges 14 and 15 and its front edge 21 is turned downwardly over the retainer lips 16 and 17. An aperture 22 is provided in the cover to give access to release means, to be described.

An aperture 25 is cut in the base plate transversely across its Width at the rear end and a belt bar 26 is located in general register with the aperture 25. The bar 26 is loosely contained in the space defined by the base plate 12, side walls 13, and flanges 14 and 15, and the end of a safety belt 27 is looped around it. One end of the belt is free and unattached and the other end is anchored to the vehicle or to a storage reel mounted to the vehicle. The looping of the belt 27 around the bar 26 is a known arrangement and when the belt 27 is under tension it is firmly held by being trapped between the bar 26 and an edge 28 of the aperture 25. The effective length of the belt may be shortened simply by pulling on the free end, whereupon the bar 26 rocks about its longitudinal axis such that there is no trapping of the belt against the edge 28. The effective length of the belt 27 may be increased by pulling on the belt running back to the anchorage point in a direction substantially normal to the base plate 12, the bar 26 again rocking about its longitudinal axis to allow the belt to slip over it without being trapped or nipped against an edge of the aperture 25.

The latch plate 19 has an indentation 30 at its apex which provides a latching surface 31 and is biased downwards towards the base plate 12 by means of a spring 32. The indentation 30 interlocks with the aperture 6 in the tongue portion 2 when the buckle is in the assembled position.

The angle formed by the latching surface 31, when the tongue is inserted in the housing 1, to the base plate 12 is important if secure engagement is to be obtained with the abutment surface 7 of the tongue 2. The latching surface should be at substantially 90 to the base plate. In the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings only one indentation 30 and latching surface 31 are provided. It will be understood that two indentations each presenting a latching surface could be formed in the latch plate.

Release of the tongue is brought about by exerting pressure on a cranked lever 33 of shallow V section. The lever is pivotally mounted on the base plate about an edge 34, so that its front end, or the free end 35 of one of its arms is positioned under a tail 36, that is, the other arm, extending rearwardly from the latch plate 19. The shallow V section release lever 33 is secured in place by means of lugs 40 projecting from its side edges, and housed in apertures 41 formed in the side walls 13 of the housing part. The rear end or other arm of the lever 33 is inclined upwardly away from the base plate and presented at the aperture 22 formed in the outer cover 20. Downward pressure on the rear end of the lever 33 rocks it about its pivot 34, bringing about an angular movement of the latch plate, against the spring biasing means 32, so that the locking surfaces of the latch plate are moved out of engagement with the abutment surface 7 of the tongue 2.

The tongue 2 is engaged in the housing 1 simply by pushing the tongue between the latch plate 19 and the base plate 12. The latch pivots about its forward end and rides up over the tongue until the latching surface 31 can snap down behind the abutment surface 7 of the tongue under the bias of the spring 32. The tongue is then positively locked in the housing and cannot be withdrawn until the release lever 33 is pressed down and the latching surface 31 is moved out of engagement with the abutment surface 7, as hereinbefore described. A press button may be supplied in the aperture 22 for releasing the buckle.

What is claimed is:

1. A safety belt buckle comprising a housing part including a base plate and a latch retaining lip spaced above a front edge of said base plate, a latch plate of shallow V section pivotally mounted about the free edge of one of its arms which edge is pivotally retained in said lip; a latching surface provided on the face of said latch plate adjacent said base plate; means biassing said latch plate for pivotal movement towards said base plate of said housing part, a tongue insertable into said housing part between said latch plate and said base plate, an abutment surface provided on said tongue and engageable with said latching surface to lock said tongue against withdrawal, and a manually operable release lever of shallow V section, one arm of which engages under the other arm of said latch plate to pivot said latch plate against said biassing means, thereby effecting movement of said latching surface away from said base plate and out of engagement with said abutment surface of said tongue.

2. A safety belt buckle according to claim 1 including side flanges on said base plate which lie parallel to, but are spaced from, said base plate, and downwardly and rearwardly turned tabs extending from said side flanges said tabs providing said lip.

3. A safety belt buckle according to claim 2 including sidewalls forming part of the housing part, said side walls being integral with said base plate along its side edges, and in which said flanges are integral with said side walls.

4. A safety belt buckle according to claim 1 and in cluding a tail extending from the rear edge of said latch plate and under which said release lever engages, whereby, when said release lever is manually operated, said tail is lifted, pivotally moving said latch plate away from said base plate.

5. A safety belt buckle according to claim 2 including a cover plate which engages with said side flanges of said side walls to overlie said latch plate and release lever,

said cover plate and base plate forming said housing in which said latch plate and release lever are contained.

6. A safety belt buckle according to claim 5, and including an aperture in said cover plate to provide access to said release lever.

7. A safety belt buckle according to claim 6 in which the trailing arm of said release lever is presented at said aperture, said other arm engaging under the trailing arm of said latch plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,466,975 9/ 1923 Toelcke.

3,349,445 10/ 1967 Foster.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,351,339 12/1963 France.

BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Examiner. 

